HIV prevention in Faith-Based Settings: YOUR Blessed Health Youth Outcomes

YOUR Blessed Health (YBH) is a health education program designed to increase the capacity of faith-based organizations to address HIV/AIDS among African American adolescents. YBH is a community-based participatory research project between YOUR Center, a faith-based HIV/AIDS service organization, researchers from the University of Michigan, and African American churches in Flint, Michigan. This presentation will describe the findings of an YBH evaluation and discuss the implications of the findings for faith-based HIV prevention programs. YBH staff administered pre- and post- intervention surveys to 132 adolescents from 11 churches to assess condom use, knowledge of the reproductive system and HIV/AIDS myths, communication skills, and decision making. Paired sample T-Tests comparing the pretest to the posttest revealed a significant increase in reproductive knowledge and ability to identify HIV/AIDS myths. There also were positive correlations between participants' decision making on the pretest and their reproductive and HIV/AIDS myths knowledge on the posttest. By improving in each of these areas, the YBH program meets both faith-based and public health goals. These data also provide insight into adolescent sexual relationships, highlighting the need for a more developmentally appropriate understanding of relationship dynamics and communication skills. That is, although nearly half of the sample reported having engaged in some form of sex, less than one third actually reported having a partner or someone with whom they occasionally ‘hook up'. This presentation will include a former youth participant's perspective and conclude with a discussion of the lessons learned from this aspect of the YBH program evaluation.